Congress, opposition leaders slam Modi’s silence over Trump’s claims

KARACHI: Indian opposition leaders have sharply criticised Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for what they say is his continued silence on US President Donald Trump’s repeated assertions that he prevented a nuclear war between India and Pakistan through personal intervention.

Congress President and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge took to X (formerly Twitter) and said: “Trump said that I stopped the war between India and Pakistan. But...Not a single word came out of Narendra Modi’s mouth. Trump said this not once or twice but 17 times... yet Modi remained silent. Narendra Modi is afraid of Trump, but wants to become a ‘world leader’. On one hand, Trump intimidates Narendra Modi, and on the other hand, Modi goes to campaign for Trump, saying ‘This time, Trump government.’ Meaning, someone with so many flaws also wants to become a hero.”

Kharge’s comments came a day after Trump, speaking at a press briefing following the Nato summit in The Hague, once again claimed he had averted war between the South Asian neighbours.

“The most important of all, India and Pakistan… I ended that with a series of phone calls on trade. I said if you’re going to go fighting each other, we’re not doing any trade deal”, Trump said.

“I got them to reason, and I said, we’re not doing a trade deal if you’re going to fight...And in fact, I had the general, who was very impressive. The general from Pakistan was in my office last week”, he added.

Trump went on to call Modi “a great friend,” adding: “He’s a great gentleman. He’s a great man... And we stopped the nuclear war.”

Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh noted that this was the 16th time since May 10 that Trump had repeated this narrative. “This is the 16th time since May 10 that President Trump has said this”, Ramesh wrote in a post on X, sharing the video from The Hague.

Echoing Kharge’s criticism, Congress leader Pawan Khera said: “From China to the US, the world knows that the greatest weakness of Prime Minister Modi is applause, approval, validation. Just praise him a little and Modi will undermine India’s interests -- giving clean chits to China and surrendering to threats of the US”.

Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale also joined the chorus, questioning why the Indian prime minister had not publicly rejected Trump’s claim.

“For the 100th time, US President Trump claims at Nato Summit that he stopped the war between India & Pakistan....Why is 56” PM Modi so scared to counter him publicly? OR -- did Modi really bow down to US pressure? If true, that’d be shameful”, Gokhale wrote on X, referring to Modi’s oft-quoted ‘56-inch chest’ boast.

Indian media reports, citing sources, had suggested that during a 35-minute phone call with Trump last week, Modi had reiterated India’s longstanding position of not accepting any third-party mediation. The reports said Modi had clarified that any talks about a cessation of hostilities were initiated at Pakistan’s request and discussed bilaterally between the two countries’ military leaderships.